Her breath made its way around the tree, easily visible in the rising sunlight. Her long brown hair hid itself from the others in the party; no one could know her secret. Her father sent her on this mission and she intended to complete it no matter what. The uniform she wore, a bloodstained set of leathers and breeches, with a soggy set of boots, felt very familiar to her, and hid her figure well. The woman had been stalking this prey for little over a week with her group, and this early morning, she would get the kill while the others slept.
She could hear the creature even now, stalking some prey almost one hundred feet from her. Her heart was racing, but she grit her teeth and began her advance, short sword in hand and hand crossbow at the ready. She cut through the brush and into a large clearing to see the creature gnawing at its kill, a fawn of nearly five months of age. The creature stood up on its haunches, looking similar to a human, and let out a low growl. The front appendages hung down much like claws or hands, and settled themselves back to the ground as the creature kept itself low, ready to pounce at any moment. The opponent held her stance and aim, awaiting its first move, buckler secured to her arm. Several moments which felt like ages pass as the two combatants lock eyes. Deep in the creatures blackened blue eyes, the woman can see a hint of fear, and in the reverse, the creature can see the innocence and frailness in hers.
One lunge begins, while a defense is raised. The creature, baring its teeth and hideous maw, and raising its claws to her; the woman, firing one shot from her crossbow, hitting him in his lung, and lunging with her sword through its gut. In one fell swoop, the creature writhed and buckled in a heap of flesh and hair. It felt as if the time between them lasted a decade, but only happened in mere seconds. The woman retracted her sword, and reloaded her crossbow quickly as she swept around to see it on the ground, still barely breathing. Her heart still racing, she ran over to it, kneeling down and slitting the throat of the animal to ensure the creature was not simply fooling her in its death. A success, she proceeded what she came here to do; retrieve the neck and hide of a wolfling. Wolflings were queer mixes concocted by creation magic of mages looking for somewhat loyal, but savage creatures. Apprentice mages, trying to copy the tales of old, have tried to make these, but have been met with only wild wolflings as their creations. This being one of the last wild wolflings, the victor sighed as she deposited her spoils in a bag, and made her way back to camp. Upon reaching the top of the hill however, she was met with her band looking at her, awe in their eyes.
"You… You slayed the wolfling by yourself," A young soldier said aloud, as the others still stood there with their mouths agape.
"I have slain the wolfling yes. You may do with it as you please," She said, removing her helmet now, "But the Tohsaka's take the remains I have for their own devices. I will be heading back to my abode. You can follow me and protect me and my father might have some reward for you. If not, I will make my way back on my own."
The soldiers stood in awe of the brilliance of the young woman in their attire. She had bright fair skin, and long black-brown hair, flowing almost to the mid of her back. The soldier's uniform hid her form well, but still showed some curves to her frame. She began her trek back to the camp, and from there, back to the city of Melaphest.
The journey took a day of travel, with her and the captain of the group at the head, with her atop his steed. Minimal conversation was had, but soon, upon seeing the rise of the city over a hill, the soldiers began to converse, as well as Tohsaka with the captain. "I thank you for not revealing anything to the others," she said suddenly, as the sun reached its midpoint in the day once they topped the hill only a few miles from the city.
"No need to thank me Miss," He said gruffly, "I am fairly certain that you of all people would have been able to fend off a horde of horny men if it came to it," the man finished with a laugh.
Tohsaka, seemingly hurt or angered by the comment, retorted, "I have you know I am quite the dignified lady. I would not have attempted to harm any of them Ser. You surely jest."
"'Aye milady I do. It was all for a laugh. I do appreciate you coming to me with the request however. You're father… He is quite the fright when he needs to be, but when it comes to you…" the man shudders a moment, "He becomes a demon of sorts."
"It was not for me, I assure you. His leading knight could not attempt the fight, so he had me come in the knight's stead. He had little to no faith in me, and hoped to rid of you and the group if I know him as well as I should."
The comment set the captain back a few steps. "That's right cruel milady," He says with a gulp. "But, I am joyed to see that you succeeded where we had failed countless times."
"I agree. The beast was weak from the archer's assault, but still, it was quite the opponent."
The talk continued between them as they moved ever onward, reaching the city in only two hours passing. The walls pass by as they enter and see a few peasants and merchants around the streets oogling and aweing at the sight of mangled fur and body of the last wild wolfling to be in existence. The parts of the wolfling would go for a high price, but all Tohsaka needed was the hide and neck; the rest would be given to the group for sale or for using for themselves. They reached the square of the city, and bid the lady farewell as a group of knights came to escort her to her destination; The Fiore Estate; or as the children called it, the House Atop the Hill.
The place was a lone mansion of sorts set atop a small rise in the landscape, surrounded by a field of green freshly cut grass and a fence of stone and iron. Black gates met the group as they entered into the estate and made their way up to the house. Out front, the servants, awaited Lady Tohsaka's arrival. All were present, except for one; her father. Likely in some meeting or discussion. She thought to herself as she could see the servants lining the stair to the large wooden front door. Masters, the head servant, took a deep bow after helping the lady off of her horse. He took a moment to look her over.
"Lady Tohsaka," He said, taking a breath, "How did you come about this… rancid attire? We must get you out of this at once!"
"I can dress myself Masters. I am no child anymore. Besides, I must see Father as quickly as possible. I have his spoils he so dearly needed," She says as she moves up the steps with Masters beside her squabbling over her attire and haggard look about her.
Lady Tohsaka pressed on through the doors. The warmth of the foyer to the grand hall enveloped her. The smell of home filled her body and began to make her feel like a kid again. She shook it off quickly before making her way to her room. Servants followed her in and sat with her as she dressed and cleaned herself. "Lady Tohsaka!" They exclaim as she kicked off her bloodstained leathers of her hunt into the floor, "Rin. Just call me Rin. I know all of your names and I call you by them. Call me by my name." She said, tired of the 'Lady' business. She might have been the daughter of a prestigious family in the City of Melaphest, but she could only stand it for so long.
"R-Rin… How was it? Going on the hunt?" One asked; a small girl named Olivia.
"What do you mean how was it? The week of tracking the beast? That was a nightmare," She said as she hopped into the bath that fresh water from the spring on the estate. Heated to the perfect temperature, the bath soothed all the aches and pains of the week long trek through the dense forests and made Rin feel as if she were floating atop gentle steam clouds. She continued on about the journey to the girls. "The hiding was the most difficult part. I slept in those leathers every night until yesterday. We lost four men to the wilds and one to the wolfling. The beasts of the forest do not take too kindly to us; and neither do the wood elves," she adds, playing on the girls imaginations. Wood elves were a wives tale of ages past, but still held a solid grasp on young one's minds. The thought of browned men and women with white hair dashing through the forests and protecting the balance of it intrigued children. However, they normally grew out of it quickly upon their first journey through it. Many of these girls had never seen outside the city walls.
"You jest Lady Toh—Rin," Olivia corrects herself, "Wood elves? Surely you simply mean wolves and such. Aside from that, what were the men like? Were they as gruff and tough as what we saw coming in?"
"You would believe so, but in the dead of night, I heard the terrors they thought up and the scared ideas they conversed about. They were more scared of the creature than I was."
"You are a special one though Rin. You have a power that not many others have."
"Oh how I know," Rin said as she exits the bath and dries herself, putting on her house garments; A small straight dress of light blue. "My Father has told me many a time that what I do is not something that many people can or ever learn how to do."
The servants say nothing, until a younger girl, Em as they call her, spoke. "So… What did you bring back on the hunt?"
"The neck of the creature and its hide."
The sound of disgust from the room radiated throughout the mansion, and the girls all exited the room quickly without taking the leathers to be washed. Rin laughed at their quick escape and made her way with the sack of spoils down to her father's study.
"Rin, I see you have returned," Her father says as she enters the study. A man of status since birth, Tokiomi Tohsaka was an imposing looking man. He stood a head or more taller than most men in the city, and boasted the strength to made most of them. He could handle no sword or defend himself with a knife or anything, but his intimidation, demeanor, and look simply stopped most people in their tracks. His magical prowess was something to marvel at as well. The city of Melaphest was known for its ways of magic, but none could top the house of Tohsaka with its advancements in the art known as Gem Magic, or Jewel Magecraft as it is formally called. Concentrating power into gemstones of varying types allows the gems to hold the spell wanted and can be used quickly. It can be used much like a stored spell, but has the ability to be used by nearly anyone as long as they have some form of magical knowledge. With this knowledge in tow, Tokiomi has made it a point to push for gem mining in the surrounding area to the king, as to not exhaust his supply of gems.
Rin bowed quickly and made her way over to the chair in front of his desk, dropping the bag of remains next to the desk. "I see you have succeeded. Well done my child," he says with a deep resounding tone as his teeth begin to escape his lips in a smile. "Now. Do you know why I asked this of you?"
You told me before, but the concept of that… it sounded like a joke. She thought to herself again, keeping in the feelings she had for the reasoning he put forth to her a week ago. "To 'summon a servant for an upcoming battle of mages.' I believe is what you said. But that makes no sense. A battle between mages? We must preserve ourselves. There are only so many who know the ways of magic," she retorts to his question, along with the same reasoning to his charade she gave a week ago.
"Or to see who is the most powerful of us all. In a contest of battle and magic played all around the Earth," Her father said to himself mostly with a bit of laughter. "It is a grand idea. The gods could not have come up with such a cruel and entertaining idea. Making a chalice of legend from magic and giving it the ability to do anything. Such lofty goals, but it worked… it truly worked!" Laughter permeated the room as Rin sat there and watched her father, mad with the concept of this game in his mind. "Now…" He said, now calmed down. "I asked you to obtain this for a spell we need to summon a servant. These spells are made by offering these items, as well as the person to form as the master, to the grail and entering oneself into the game. Once all seven servants are summoned, the game begins. With these, I can now enter into this game and destroy the other mages of the Houses!"
The concept was still a strange one to Rin, but now, she did not care. She felt as if she helped her father accomplish something that could be dire and destructive, but she could not care an ounce. Her father had treated her poorly since her mother had passed, and nothing could redeem the acts he did the days after her death. Her body could never forgive him either. She was still pure, she believed, but inside her, she could feel whatever he did to her change as time went on. Since she was eight, she could feel she had something that others didn't, something that her friends could never have. Her father always told her that she was a gem to her, but she never understood until she learned the ways of magic herself. Inside her body, were multiple gems of varying spells, each one helping protect and keep Rin from harm. It was a strange ritual that he performed, but the spells worked, and never seemed to fade in power when used. Countless times she had tested them; Jumping from high places only to fall and land on her feet with no injury; to hit something like a tree with a small stick to see the truck begin to leak sap because of the force of her attack; and even cutting her finger off to see if it could reattach itself; the magic that courses through her veins was something to be reckoned with. Since her discovery of all of this, and her father finding out about her testing, she had become less of a gem and more of a servant to him. He knew she could not be killed by normal means, and he was more than happy to give her assignments of sorts that could put her in danger, but this game of his, sounded much like something he would have to do, rather than something that Rin could do for him. She could not care less about the fate of her father, and if she were to take over as the head of the Tohsaka family sooner than she expected, then so be it.
"Rin, I have one last assignment for you. After this, you may do as you wish in this estate," He said after mulling his thoughts over.
"Yes father? What else do you need in this scheme of yours?" She replied coldly.
"Study in your books and find me a champion worthy of the Tohsaka name. Someone who will win this game for us and bring us even more power than we already possess. I want a hero of ages past; someone who defied the age and showed everyone that battles were won through their means; someone who would accomplish great feats and acts and had the strength of nations; give me a champion to win in this game."
Rin sat back in her chair, and began thinking on the proposition. Soon however, she sat up and stood from her chair, moving to the door. "I accept. Give me one day father. Your champion will be found and you will have them. Be prepared for it and begin the spell as soon as I am ready." She said as she exited. After this, I will be a free woman. If my father would die, I would be the head of the name Tohsaka! I could… I could do so much more than him! Her mind began to race with all of the possibilities of her future without her father. The joy of that future powered her studies, and helped her find the thing he was looking for. Her father had given her stipulations on the person that could be summoned, and the stipulations were not as farfetched as she had supposed. The person or creature could be fictional, as long as enough people believed in it at one time, and it could even be something from another land if enough information was known about it. However, it must be related to the items used in the spell. A wolfling neck, and its hide. The items of a beast, of a being of the wood and magic altogether, a being made for loyal servitude but has the potential for great power and destructive force. She had to admit, her father had chosen his items well. She came back the next day, papers in hand and put them on her father's desk.
She stood there, waiting for her father to say something, but nothing came, so she began her explanation, and saw that her father, amazingly, was pleased. "Here is your champion father, a creature not of this corporeal world. A man brought up in the woods. A being who's essence is battle and the ability to adapt beyond all reason. I give you, the Wood Elf Archer."
